Theo arrived at the 'twin buildings'.
When he entered the first one, he was immediately surrounded by ghosts, but Emily emerged from his shadow.
"Don't intimidate my daddy~!" Emily said, then opened her mouth.
The moment this happened, right in the building's entrance hall, the ghosts tried to flee, but Emily's suction was powerful enough to pull them in.
...
When they reached the tenth floor, after searching all the apartments, besides ghosts, they found nothing else.
'Violet and the others must have passed through here.' He guessed.
It was close to them, and he noticed that none of these apartments had water gallons.
Even things like sofas and mattresses had been taken.
The only things left were items like televisions and plastic chairs.
Sitting on a chair, he looked at Emily.
[HP: 615/615]
'This way of leveling up is truly enviable.'
But he couldn't say much, as he himself was progressing quite quickly.
Holding the cores in his hand, he first absorbed the ones for the skill.
- [Stealth (Level 3 / 38%)]
'An average of 10% per level 3 core.' He thought.
Then, he took the corpses out of his inventory.
After touching their bodies, he discovered that none of them had the 'Stealth' skill.
He absorbed all 7 of the zombies' cores.
Once done, he took out 9 more level 4 cores.
When he finished, he absorbed the remaining cores as well.
Thinking of something, he also took the white level 5 core and used it to upgrade the lightning manipulation skill.
[Skill [Lightning Manipulation] leveled up!]
Theo closed his eyes as he felt an improvement in his own body with the evolution of this skill.
'As expected from a special skill.' He thought and said mentally: 'Interface.'
════════════
Theo Dimas
Race: Human
Age: 20 years
Level 5
Progress to the next level: 60.4%
[HP: 560/560]
Essence: 441
════════════
Awakened Skill:
- [Stealth (Level 3 / 38%)]
- [Lightning Manipulation (Level 2 / 60%)]
- [__] (Locked): Unlocks at level 10
════════════
'So, besides gaining 1 level, I also got 60% toward the next level.' He was satisfied with the result. Out of curiosity, he opened the shop.
3: Skill: [Lightning Manipulation Level 3]: 2,500 Essence / 60% discount: 1,500 Essence [x]
'Huh? I got a discount because it's at level 2 60%?' He thought: 'If that's the case, it's worth it if I'm close to the next level.'
He imagined getting it to 90% and running out of skill cores, then, with a 90% discount, leveling up to the next level for 225 essence.
...
In the other building, the result was the same.
The only good thing was that Emily managed to get stronger.
[HP: 641/641]
The amount she gained from eating zombies was decreasing.
But that was something he already expected, after all, he had reached level 6, and the ghosts were all level 3. So far, they hadn't encountered ghosts with levels higher than 3.
'Well, without devouring souls, it'll be hard for them to level up.' Theo thought: 'If they can get stronger by eating animal souls, then there must be more powerful ghosts in forested areas.'
'By the way, is there a zoo nearby?'
So far, he didn't know. If there was, it might be interesting to take a look, but he wouldn't dare get too close. After all, there could be mutant beasts.
If it's something like a mutant lion, it would be hard to determine what level it would be, but he didn't believe the level would be low.
**
**
After returning to their base in the building, Violet and the other leaders gathered.
There were a total of 7 leaders.
Violet, Mia, Sara, Frank, Marco, Aiko, and Dmitry.
While Violet sat at the head of the table, the others sat along the sides.
"The reason we're gathered today is to discuss the possible mutations and the 'Neutralizer' created by Theo." Mia began.
When they heard Theo's name, several of them looked in Sara's direction.
It was obvious that they felt they had lost an incredibly capable person because of her.
"First, I need to clarify something." Violet said coldly: "Don't blame Sara for Theo leaving. He himself said he used her as an excuse to leave because he wanted to act alone."
Upon hearing this, those who were looking at Sara gave awkward laughs and stopped staring at her.
Sara, in turn, looked at Violet gratefully.
Violet continued: "Another thing, Theo's strength is growing very quickly, and with him being able to create the Neutralizer and knowing about the mutations that are happening, there's a good chance he'll keep evolving constantly. Without fearing being consumed by the zombie virus, he must be constantly consuming cores."
Mia added: "Not to mention that we recently traded several cores with him for cans of sardines and also for the Neutralizer that my sister used."
"Is there really no chance of bringing him into the group?" Frank asked.
Frank was a fire skill user, 188 cm tall, with red hair and eyes.
"I don't think so." Mia replied.
Tapping his fingers on the table, Marco said with a calculating smile: "I don't believe that. He's a man too. If we use a honey trap..."
Marco was one of the youngest in the group, 18 years old, with short, messy black hair and brown eyes. His special skill was paper manipulation.
He didn't even need to finish; they understood. He was suggesting they lure Theo with women.
"I'm not against it, but I don't think it'll work." Mia said: "Although he looked at me and my sister before, when it came to something like cores, he seemed much more interested in that. His main focus right now is increasing his strength. Using a honey trap might bring him to us, but ensuring he stays is an entirely different story."
"Not to mention there's a risk that he might not like it at all and stop negotiating with us." Sara added.
Considering she was used as an excuse, it showed that he preferred acting alone over being part of a group.
"Violet." Dmitry crossed his arms and said: "I have a suggestion, want to hear it?"
Dmitry was the oldest in the group. He was 51 years old and Aiko's father, who was 21.
Dmitry was Russian, and Aiko's mother was Japanese. They were living in Russia when the apocalypse hit, and they were the first to join Mia and Violet.
"Of course, what is it?" Violet asked.
"As we all know, we can no longer use the cruise ship." He said slowly: "Now, we need to establish ourselves here. And let's be honest, without something like the Neutralizer that this kid Theo can create, we don't know when one of us might succumb and turn into a zombie."
He paused. Everyone nodded in agreement with what he said. After all, the worry of one day turning into a zombie after accumulating so much zombie virus was something that constantly concerned them.
Dmitry concluded: "That's why I suggest we form a marriage alliance with him."
"If this were before the apocalypse, such a thing would be ridiculed, but we can't deny that it could be a good approach." Mia said thoughtfully: "But who would we choose?"
"Actually, I'm willing." A bit shyly, Aiko raised her hand.
Aiko, who was half-Japanese and half-Russian, was a rare beauty. Silky, glossy black hair like the night, almond-shaped eyes, a small, refined nose, and blue-green eyes.
She was tall, 179 cm in height. She had long legs and above-average breasts.
At this moment, her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, making her look young and cheerful.
With minimal makeup, just some foundation and pink lipstick on her lips, she had many admirers among the people in their group, one of them being Marco.
"No, this can't be done!" Marco objected, slamming his hands on the table.
Realizing he had lost some composure, Marco still stood firm under everyone's gaze in his direction.
His skill wasn't high-level, but Marco had one of the most convenient abilities, which was turning Mana into paper. With this, not only did he create papers for basic hygiene, but it was also very useful during cold times.
Because it was a useful and rare skill, it made him one of the leaders.
Everyone looked in his direction.
Under their gazes, he pretended to cough, adding: "This marriage alliance business is unnecessary and outdated. I don't support it at all!"
"No, I want this!" Seeing that she seemed a bit anxious, Aiko lowered her head.
The truth was, she felt attracted to Theo when she saw him that morning.
She was one of those in the jeep.
And the fact that he was doing so well on his own made him seem even more appealing to her.
"Hahaha, as expected from my daughter!" Dmitry laughed boisterously: "Yes, only a capable man is a man of value."
"I'm also a capable man..." Marco muttered, clenching his fists under the table.
"So, we'll talk to him about this the next time we negotiate with him?" Mia asked.
"Actually, I want to try getting closer to him first." Aiko said: "So, I hope to be present the next time we negotiate the Neutralizer with him."
Hearing this only increased Marco's frustration and anger. And why wouldn't it? The girl he liked was proactively taking the initiative to get to know another man with the intention of dating/marrying him.
'I won't allow this!' Marco's eyes darkened as he thought: 'It's just knowing how to make Neutralizers? I just need to figure out how to do that...'
Violet crossed her arms: "Okay, the next time we meet with Theo, you'll come along. Now let's move on to the next topic."
***Aiko's Images***